Look It Up!

08 March 2011

Saturday was Sentosa Day. We were leaving at 9 a.m. so we got up at around 8. Nanay gave us some cookies for breakfast which we barely touched. We left at a little past 9 with Trish's cousin. We took a bus to Orchard Road and walked to the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. While walking along Orchard, we passed by the Cotton On shop that we were looking for the other day. Sus. We took the train to the Harbour Front station. The station was located inside the Vivo City mall. We went outside to take the bus headed to the Resorts World at Sentosa. The bus ride was quick.

As soon as we arrived at Sentosa, we proceeded to the Universal Studios. Yey!

First stop was the Monster Rock Show. It was some sort of a rock concert where monsters performed (Bride, Frankenstein, Dracula, etc.). We all loved it especially Tatay. :)

It was lunch time when we got out of the theater. We had lunch at Mel's Drive-In which served burgers and shakes, among others. I ordered a hotdog sandwich which was kinda dry. Rhuel had a double cheeseburger which was so-so according to him. We ordered the chocolate shake which was kinda good. Barney's chicken sandwich/burger was good. The fries were kinda huge. As usual, we brought home some of the ketchup. Hehe.

We walked around Universal Studios after lunch.

We were not able to try all of the rides because waiting time was kinda long.

We only tried the Accelarator which just moved fast in circular motions. Nothing fancy.

Oh, we tried the carousel too. Felt good to be around kids. Hehe.

We were able to check out the Lights, Camera, Action! and the Shrek 4D Show. We had fun lining up to have our pictures taken with some of the mascots. Too bad we missed Shrek and Fiona :(.

Posed with some Universal characters.

At around 5 or 6 p.m., we decided to leave because we wanted to explore the rest of Sentosa. We dropped by the Hershey's Chocolate World and the Candylicious shop. Grabe, ang daming chocolate. I think we spent most of our money in these shops. Hoarding. Hehe.

We proceeded to the Imbiah Lookout.

Tatay and Nanay decided to sit on one of the benches to wait for us while we checked out the place. We were able to ride the Tiger Sky Tower and the Jewel Cable Car. Ang saya. The Sky Tower is a viewing capsule which rises up to 131 meters above sea level and it gives you a 360 degree view of Singapore. It's beautiful. Admission fee is $15.00 per adult.

There were 2 cable car services. One was open and the other had coaches (Jewel). The open one's cheaper but it's kinda scary so we decided to try Jewel. Regular price is $26.00 per person for round trip. Mahal noh? But we were so lucky that we got there after 7 p.m. because the rates were discounted. We only paid $17.00 per person plus we got free popcorns and drinks. Ang saya. Ride was kinda long but not long enough for us to finish our popcorns. Hehe. Hassle lang because they check your ticket at every stop.

It was almost 8 when we got back to the parents. Buti naman di pa sila bored. Hehe.

We took the monorail to Vivo City. It was too crowded. And the tracks were kinda scary. But it was free. :)

We then took the MRT to Dhoby Ghaut. Trish and Barney were itching to shop. It was our last night so they had to make the most out of it.

The mall was 313 @ Somerset. First stop was at Forever 21. The boys waited outside, on the sidewalk, while the girls stormed the shops. Hehe. I didn't find anything I liked at Forever 21 so I headed to Cotton On. I got 3 tops and slippers (Rhuel and I didn't bring slippers for this trip. Wrong decision!). I rushed to Zara to look for a gift for the husband. I got a polo shirt for less than P500.00. Galing noh. :)

Everyone was at the food court except me and Barney. They were done with dinner and they were warning us that the restaurants were closing. Deadma. Hehe. On our way to the food court, we saw Charles & Keith. Barney begged me to make a quick stop there. I'm happy that I agreed. I got myself a pair of black shoes. Finally, my 2-year old shoes will retire. Barney got a pair of brown wedge sandals. I'm happy with my shoes because I got it at 20% off. The store manager was also Pinoy. Helpful naman. :)

Too bad I missed the football jersey shop (Goal @ 313). Should have gotten Rhuel a jersey instead. :(

Barney & I were not able to find any open restaurant at the food court. Boo. We walked to the bus stop and bought some dinner from McDo. We wanted to try the grilled chicken but we didn't see it in the menu so I got a quarter pounder instead. Turns out the grilled chicken ad was actually at the counter. Don't know how we missed it. Hehe.

We decided to take a cab on our way back to the hotel. Tagal yung bus eh. The taxi driver (I called him uncle, their version of manong) was nice enough to answer all of my questions. He didn't allow me to eat in the cab though because it's "inhygienic." Hehe.

Quick dinner when we got to the hotel then I packed our stuff, took a bath, and dozed off.

Sunday was bye-bye day. :( We were leaving the hotel at 8 a.m. but everyone was calling us before 7. Zzzz. We took a bath and then it was time to go. We took a cab to the airport.

We checked in and then we checked out the duty free shops. After some quick breakfast, it was boarding time. Boo! :(

I will miss Singapore because it's a nice city. It's urbanized but it's a healthy place to live in. Lots of trees, fresh air, and it's very clean. The people are so disciplined especially the drivers. Traffic was very tolerable. There are a lot of shops. Basta it looks so orderly. And I felt so safe when I was there. Kakainggit. I won't mind working there. *sigh* :)

One last tip. Singapore refunds the 7% sales tax on your purchases. However, the purchase must amount to at least $100.00 per store per day. The store issues a form for the refund. I think you have to specifically ask the store for this form. I'm not sure if they'll volunteer this information. You must present this form and the receipt at the airport to get your refund. Sayang, we didn't know about the form so we were not able to get any refund.

Some other places that we missed: Bugis night markets, Zoo, night safari, the beaches. Di bale, next time. Hehe. We were not able to meet friends based there too. No time eh. Sayang.

Seriously, we've seen Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona, Liverpool, even South Africa during the 2010 World Cup...on tv. We cheered for Pacquiao be it in Las Vegas or Dallas, for Bata Reyes when he was in Wales, for Charice when she was in Hollywood, for Lea Salonga when she was in West End, and we even followed her in Broadway. As a matter of fact, we've been following her since her Repertory and That's Entertainment days. Our favorite Lea song is "I am but a Small Boy," which was also Aiza's favorite, that's why she turned out that way. When she was still in Eat Bulaga, she used to sing "Butchikik." The song is actually a Yoyoy Villame classic, the same guy who composed "Magellan."

And guess what! Magellan, being the first to circumnavigate the world, was the ultimate traveler! He was Portuguese, and guess in what part of Europe Portugal is...the south!